Four vignettes on the godly and not-so-godly
First, the dog that was almost stoned to death, by holy decree.
DAN-CHYI CHUA
From the Rubaiyat
  Awake! For the Morning in the Bowl of Night Has flung the Stone that puts the Stars to Flight: And Lo! The Hunter of the East has caught The Sultan’s Turret in a Noose of Light.
OMAR KHAYYAM
The Dictator’s Survival Guide
Why do some dictators fall after popular uprisings, while others remain in power? A Burmese blogger explains.
KYAW ZWA MOE
Iran
The Idiocy of the Anti-Sharia Crowd
In a seldom-heard perspective, a Saudi Arabia-based journalist speaks out against those who oppose Islamic law, and points out the little-known facts about the controversial punishment of death by stoning.
SABRIA JAWHAR
Redux in Israel: Disgraceful policies of the Catholic Church
How does a nation so quickly forget the vile racism it endured for generations - which nearly drove it to annihilation - and inflict it carelessly on another?
DAN-CHYI CHUA
Goodness, is this Israel or Iran?
So much for being the Middle East's only democracy. Pronouncements coming from Israel's political and religious leaders are starting to sound like they are being issued from Tehran, rather than from Jerusalem.
DAN-CHYI CHUA
Are you Israel's friend?
The government of Israel consistently speaks out against its enemies: Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and so on. But does it actually know who its friends are?
DAN-CHYI CHUA
What four dead Jews and a rabbi say about Israeli-Palestinian peace
Before the Obama-mediated talks between Israel and the Palestinians can begin in Washington, they are already crying bloody murder in the holy land.
DAN-CHYI CHUA
Persian Pipe Dreams: Hope or Hoax?
Faced with unemployment and poverty at home, Nepalis dream of becoming labourers in the Middle East.
KRYSTINA DERRICKSON
What Being a Friend of Israel Means
When Israel announces it's built more settlements in the West Bank during the US Vice President's visit, the Obama administration shows just how much it is willing to let Israel get away with.
DAN-CHYI CHUA
Letters to the President
The rest of the world may consider him a despot or a lunatic, or something in between. For tens of thousands of Iranians though, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad is their salvation.
DAN-CHYI CHUA
From Persia to the Islamic Republic
If the Nazis won, Hitler might have proclaimed their new empire Iran.
DAN-CHYI CHUA
Ahmadinejad's Tirade Backfires
How Ahmadinejad became Israel's friend for a day.
DAN-CHYI CHUA
Full text of the President of Iran's Speech at the United Nations' Racism Conference
Speech by President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at the United Nations Durban Review Conference, 20 April 2009
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